3 1/2 stars

While nothing too out of the ordinary happens in this coming of age story, I couldn't help but get drawn in to this world of British middle class boyhood circa the 1980s. Loved all the British slang of the times, the pop and cultural references. Completely realistic the shitty middle school backstabbing and bullying and posturing. We're all human, we all want to be liked, to be accepted. Why does it have to be so friggin hard?

England always comes off like a shithole. Crappy, decrepit buildings. Dirty, damp, haunted. Even the candy sounds disgusting. rubbarb custards? WTF?